Ireland Day 3 - 26th Nov. 2004

Minty Beef-Gum

Cappoquin to Birr via Waterford and Kilkenny
Ireland Weather: Mostly Sunny - Low 50's

We woke up on day 3 and couldn’t believe our luck – beautiful weather! It was so sunny and perfect we wanted to take advantage. After another wonderful breakfast (pancakes!) we took our host’s suggestion and went along the R669 road to the Knockmealdown Mountains to get a nice view. Laura drove all day, and we managed to take the proper roads to get to a dead end at the end of a sheep farm.

The view was nice enough, so we all jumped out and looked around for about 30 minutes. The terrain was very beautiful – grasses and moss had smoothed everything over with a lush green and the sheep roamed freely over the countryside. Their spray-painted bottoms revealed intricate neon colored tartans, which somehow coded the name of the farmer to whom they belonged.

After that, it was on to Waterford following local roads from Newcastle to Ballynamult (had to ask a Guinness truck driver for directions) and then the R671 do the main road N72 to Dungarvan. From there, the N25 takes you straight into Waterford and the crystal factory is on the south side of town. The crystal factory was interesting; we were able to see men making parts to chandeliers, putting handles on pitchers, blowing tall vases and finally cutting patterns into the crystal. They do all of these procedures by hand and eye…the chandelier make has an s-shaped mold to make the arms, and most molds are made from beech wood, due to it’s slow burn rate.

^ Crystal Cutter - Waterford Factory Floor ^

We bought some trinkets and had them shipped home, but the Waterford Factory Shop was a tremendous let down.

We decided to take advantage of the shopping to be had in Waterford town and spent the afternoon there.

We ate lunch at a pub called The Gingerman just off the main pedestrian zone. Laura and I had a beef stew with potatoes that was delicious. Josh shared a bite of Laura’s and chewed on it for what felt like 5 minutes. It managed to fuse itself with Josh’s mint-flavored chewing gum and ultimately he was forced to give up the fight and spit it out.

It was a very entertaining time for all.

We found good books in the bookshop, and an even better road atlas.

After Waterford, we drove up the N9 road to the N10 and ultimately to Kilkenny. Kilkenny is supposed to be an Ireland Heritage town – which means ‘quaint’. Good shops, nice old castle, etc.

We got there at night – just AFTER they closed the castle for the evening. We looked around and got the hell out of Dodge. We had a long way to drive to make it to Birr, and we needed to get on the road.

I had tried several times to call our B&B – The Ring Farmhouse – throughout the early evening, but had no success. We stopped in along the N77 to Durrow to make another phone call attempt. Dave had success and we were not pressured to be there by any specific time, so we decided to try and grab a quick bite to eat.

We went to the Castle Hotel in Durrow where Laura and Dave ordered soup; I ordered some fries and a beer (something quick and easy for the three of us).

The staff made special accommodation for us because they served us immediately even though there was a party of 8 ahead of us. If any of you ever read this, thank you very much!!

We still had a fair distance to travel, so we hopped on the N8 towards Portlaoise (thinking the larger roads would be better for us at night) and over to Rosecrea along the N7. In Rosecrea we headed north along the N62 road towards Birr.

When we finally got to Birr, we had to hunt around for The Ring Farmhouse…including a very brief visit with a man who gave us directions…his blind rescue dog knew we were there before we did.

The B&B signs are fair, but their distance assumptions may be off by as much as 50%. The sign for The Ring indicated 1.7km. We went approximately 5 minutes up that road before we found it – and that is a conservative estimate.

Good night’s sleep in a decent bed…